Obesity affects negatively on muscle mass and bone density

Obese patients have a greater risk of falling and breaking bones, a syndrome that researchers at Florida State University call osteosarcopenic obesity. The syndrome is the result of an all-too-common complication of obesity—deteriorating bone density and muscle mass, The Healthline.com reported.

“It used to be the thinking that the heavier you were, the better your bones would be,” said Jasminka Ilich-Ernst, a nutrition professor at Florida State. "But that’s only true to a certain extent.”

Years ago, Ilich-Ernst began searching for links between bone and muscle strength and fat mass. She said many scientists were looking at bone issues but failing to consider muscle mass and strength, as well as fat tissue.

She says that abdominal fat (which is more toxic than fat found in other places in the body) has a more negative impact on bone and muscle strength and can also boost inflammation. She said the medical community typically focuses on the impacts of obesity on the cardiovascular system and the risk for other illnesses; there isn't much focus on the impacts on bone density and muscle mass.

In her article, Ilich-Ernst considered data on 200 women who had had their muscle mass, bone density, and fat composition measured. She found that about one-third of them had more than 30 percent fat tissue plus declining bone density (osteopenia) and muscle mass (sarcopenia)—an especially serious problem for older women.

She says that people tend to gain weight and lose muscle mass and bone density as they age, but gaining a substantial amount of body fat can further impair muscle and bone function.

Dr. Charles W. Seltzer, a physician from Philadelphia who specializes in weight loss, said shedding pounds may help increase bone density, but the research to prove it is lacking.

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